


Ease my mind

by CarmenOnMonday



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Developing Relationship, Family Feels, Fluffy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Multi, Platonic Cuddling, Protective Siblings, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-11-16
Packaged: 2021-02-07 04:23:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21451972
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CarmenOnMonday/pseuds/CarmenOnMonday
Summary: Dele doesn't have a younger sister. He doesn't know how to act.But Eric does, and so, through the years, Dele learns.
Relationships: Dele Alli/Eric Dier
Comments: 3
Kudos: 69





	Ease my mind

**Author's Note:**

> I was in my family feels and wanted some early Deledier with younger sisters. Here we go, have some fluff on this beautiful Saturday.

_November 2015_

Dele doesn’t even register the joke which makes the whole group snicker and giggle. He feels Winksy lean into his side to keep upright, the force of laugh making him sway, but it’s still not enough to force Dele's eyes away from what’s happening behind Stones’ shoulder.

A sweet girl he just met smiling brightly towards the ugly mug of Ross Berkley.

“Dele! DEL!” Winks shouts into his ear. Dele shakes him off from his arm.

“What?” he snaps, finally focusing on his mate.

“You didn’t get the joke?” Harry’s eyes are glinting with amusement.

“You’re just not funny at all,” he deadpans and watches with satisfaction how Harry’s smile drops with exaggeration. And then he pouts. “Okay, okay, I was a dick right here and didn’t listen.”

Harry follows Dele’s stare. “Ohh, you like what you see?” He comments upon noticing the girl.

_My little sister_, Eric said. _This is my little sister, Dele._

Dele flinches at the thought. “This is little Dier, you pervert.”

“You’re known to have a soft spot for the Diers...” John jumps in, suddenly interested in the conversation.

“Shut up!”

“She looks like a nice girl,” he continues.

“Shut up, Stones, I swear to god,” Dele says in his best threatening voice and watches his friends laugh him off.

Exactly. That’s the problem. He wouldn’t be able to scare anyone off.

_My little sister_, Eric said and then disappeared god knows where, leaving Dele behind to deal with the situation.

He doesn’t have younger sisters, he’s not equipped to deal with these weird, uncomfortable feelings swirling in his tummy.

Barkley stares at her like she’s his next pray. Dele’s sure that if he stood close enough, he would see a drool dripping from his mouth. Disgusting. Why is she even talking to him truly escapes Dele; he’s repulsive, and clearly a dick. He plays for Chelsea, case in point.

Dele tries to drill a hole in Ross’s head with the force of his stare. It doesn’t work, but at least, in the next moment, Barkley leans into Frank’s space and asks her something (Dele almost runs to them seeing this), and then ambles away towards the bar.

“Okay, enough,” he says, and doesn’t listen to lads’ smirks when he walks away and towards Frank.

“He’s an ass,” is the first thing he says to Frank. She distractedly raises his eyes from her phone, her face lightening up with recognition when she notices it’s Dele.

“Oh, hey!” Her smile strikes some familiar note in Dele’s heart, even though he never had her smile at him before. “I didn’t get a chance to congratulate you on your goal. Well done.”

Dele’s cheeks burn momentarily at the praise. He doesn’t have time to dwell on it. “Barkley is an ass.”

Francesca frowns at him. “Ross? Seems nice,” she mumbles, watching him in the cue to the bar.

Dele wants to scream. “Seems! Exactly! He’s an ass, in fact, and your brother-“

“Eric? What about him?” Frank raises her voice a bit.

“Wouldn’t be happy to see you with him!”

Frank’s judgmental glare actually could drill holes in people, Dele thinks when he’s at the receiving end of one.

“Cry me a river. How is it his business? Or yours, for that matter?”

“You’re his little sister-!”

Frank rolls her eyes. “A year younger. Still older than you, you know that, right?”

Dele did not know that. He glances at her and then turns away when he can’t bear the fire emanating from her normally kind eyes, and then he realises their age difference doesn’t change that much. He still feels responsible, somehow. Frustration still buzzes in him at the thought of the bastard Barkley laying his filthy hands on her.

He won’t examine why, he wouldn’t know where to start really, but that’s how it is.

“...and even if I were younger, it’s nobody’s business what I do and who I choose to talk to! Understood? Shove these misogynistic stereotypes down your-“

“Here you go!” Ross interrupts, suddenly right here, with a drink in each hand. “Alli? Can I help you somehow?”

Dele gives him his best glare, the most bitchy and threatening one he can muster, and then storms away, back to the lads, wishing there was something on the way he could punch.

When Eric reappears at his side, smiling lazily which means he had a drink or two already, and puts an arm on Dele’s shoulder, Dele is still half-pissed at being left alone to deal with the situation, but also a bit embarrassed at the scene he caused and mad at himself for making Frank hate him ten minutes into their first meeting.

Figures.

Eric talks excitedly about something Rooney said to him, and only after a few beats starts looking around.

“You’ve seen Frank...?”

Dele points into the direction of her, still with Ross, dancing dangerously close to each other. He didn’t stop watching them this entire evening, even though the sight made his blood boil.

“Bastard,” Eric mutters, his muscles tensing immediately.

“I tried to warn her, I swear, I tried, but she wouldn’t-“

“You tried?” Eric raises a brow at this. “Don’t bother. She never listens. I’m gonna kill him if he hurts her,” he mutters, and Dele swears to help him hide the body, should it come to this.

“Why would she even want to talk to him? He’s so stupid?” Dele whines.

“Don’t ask me. She can do whatever she wants,” Eric grumbles, like he wants to convince himself that these are the facts. “It’s just painful to watch.”

“Exactly!” Dele shouts. “I had no idea having a younger sister feels like this.”

Eric nods, but then turns suddenly to him. “She’s older than you, you know it, right?”

“I’ve been informed, yes.”

Eric chuckles. “You got properly involved in this, huh?”

Dele’s too ashamed to look Eric into his eyes. “She might hate me now.”

“Nah. Don’t worry. And this is not the first time. She’s a grown up, she’s going to be okay. Even with a bastard Barkley. And if not, she’ll come to us.” He’s not happy about it, but seems to decide to let it go. “Okay, come on, I’ll buy you a drink for this. Did not know you would care that much, huh. You’re a good mate...”

They drink beer and distract each other from following Ross’ every move, and somehow, Dele enjoys the night after all.

* * *

_November 2017_

Knocking to the door interrupts Dele while he’s munching on his breakfast cereal. He doesn’t expect any visitors today; it’s just a typical Tuesday in the middle of November, normal people are on their way to work, his teammates are enjoying their free time with families. Warily, he raises from the chair, and reminds himself that if whoever is at the door managed to somehow get there, they must be on their list of visitors and are therefore no threat.

He raises his brow at the person behind the door.

“Frank...? What are you doing here?”

Her stricken face falls even more when she realises it’s Dele opening the door. To his own house.

“I hoped Eric might be here...? He’s not at his,” she explains, no typical energy in her voice, just a sad monotone whine, and that’s when Dele knows it’s bad.

Dele reaches out and catches her forearm to pull her inside, immediately making a decision not to let her escape. “He was here. He took dogs out for a walk,” he explains. “Come in, you can wait here for him.”

Frank lets herself be led inside but still tries to protest half-heartedly. “I can come back later, or... or I have keys, I’ll just wait at his.”

Dele isn’t sure if this is the right time to tell her Eric won’t be coming back to his house after the walk.

“Shut up and come in,” he says instead, praying for some sudden enlightenment about how to deal with the situation. He feels in his bones that he can’t let her leave, but that’s as much as he knows.

He pushes her into the kitchen, worryingly observing how void of life she seems. Not like her at all. In the two years he’s known her for, bumping into her here and there, he didn’t see her like this, not even once.

She drops heavily onto the kitchen chair and hides her face into her hands.

Dele stands awkwardly in the doorway. “You want some cereal...?”

She chuckles wetly. _Oh-oh._ Dele’s eyes go wide.

He hurriedly walks to her side and crunches next to her. “Are you okay?” His heart is beating hard in his chest, full of worry, and he forgets about the fact that he has no idea what to do in face of this strong girl falling apart in his kitchen.

She shakes her head no, still quiet.

“If you prefer to be alone and wait for Eric, then-“ She shakes her head again. “Okay. I know I’m not him but-“

Frank finally shows her face, red and wet all around. Dele heart shatters at the disarming sight.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You can tell me,” he assures her, hoping he’s not too insisting.

_Where are you, Eric, when you’re needed most, where are you?!_ he screams in his head.

“It’s nothing,” she said and blows into a tissue Dele pushed into her hands in panic.

Dele glares at her, and it at least makes her chuckle again, a momentary smile quickly twisting back into a stricken expression.

“I guess you’ll do,” she mumbles, with her typical tactless approach, and it makes Dele relax a bit. “He’s such a bastard...”

Dele racks his brain. “Who? Barkley?”

“Barkley?” Frank frowns. “Tom! My Tom. We’ve been together for the past year, you met him.”

Dele facepalms himself. “Sure, sure. Tom.” He feels how his blood is slowly starting to boil. “What did he do?”

Frank shakes her head and picks at the tissue nervously. “Doesn’t matter... but we’re done.”

“...shit,” is Dele’s comment.

“Yeah,” she agrees, and in the next moment, she bursts with tears.

Dele watches it speechless. He has no idea what to do, for the past twenty years living blissfully away from any girls’ drama, but when he sees her (_my little sister, Dele_) it tears at the seams of his heart.

He glances at the door, but still not seeing Eric there, he makes a swift decision.

“Come on, up,” he stands up and forces Frank to stand too, just to clumsily bring her into his arms. She doesn’t even protest this time, goes willingly and melts, counts on Dele for the support, and he braces himself even more, knowing he’ll be damned before he lets her down.

She feels weird in his arms, too small and delicate, her head only reaching his chest, but something about her screams “Dier” all around, and well, Dele’s familiar with having a Dier in his arms, so maybe it’s not that different after all.

“It’s okay, it’s going to be okay,” he mumbles, trying to channel all his anger into a vile stare he throws at the wall opposite from him, not to let it ring in his voice.

She shakes her head again.

“I know what I’m talking about, Frank. I’ve been there, done that. He’s a bastard, yes. Means he’s not the right one for you. You’ll find the right one,” Dele says, believing every word and hoping he can make her believe it too.

Diers have a way of stealing people’s hearts, it’s only a matter of time till she steals the one she's meant to keep forever.

The sound of opening door and then paws on the wooden floor suddenly echoes in the house. Dogs runs excitedly into the kitchen, followed by mumbling Eric. “...you’ll make a mess boys and Dele will get mad, you’ll- Oh.”

He stops just inside when he notices the scene. His eyes immediately flash with worry. “Frank?” A second later, he’s right there, one of hands already caressing her head. “What’s wrong?”

She only sniffles.

“Tom,” Dele mouths silently to Eric.

His face turns stormy. He tugs carefully at her hair. “Come on, Frank, want a famous Dier cuddle?” he asks.

Dele is already lowering her arms, ready to step away and leave Eric to deal with the situation – which, _fair_, he’s the one Frank wanted, he’s the older, wiser brother, Dele just covered for him in his absence – but, unexpectedly, she burrows herself deeper into his arms.

“I’m good here,” she mumbles, barely understandable. Dele peers at Eric with shock, wanting to see if he heard correctly, only to see a proud expression on his face and an impressed nod from him.

“He’s a fucking idiot,” Eric sights and joins them then. He puts his arms around both Dele and Frank, and holds them tightly.

Dele slowly relaxes, finds his rightful space in this situation and fills it gratefully, fully aware that this is the first time he’s allowed into a Dier cuddle, a proper family hug he’s seen a few times. Between one heartbeat and another, he feels his heart grow with love for this girl – a younger sister, age be damned – and this boy, his boy, who taught him love in more than one sense.

“Don’t worry, Frank, we’ll beat him up,” Eric says, and they are all probably imagining the same scene, both Eric and Dele trying to win a fist fight with a man who is a professional boxer, because it only takes a beat for them all to fall into a fit of giggles.

**Author's Note:**

> [my new tumblr](https://dieretmoi.tumblr.com/)  
(I've got nothing against Ross, I swear)  
love you, bye!


End file.
